Musical pochos: The Premiers rock ‘Farmer John’ (audio,videos)

thepremieresFifty years ago the biggest summer radio record was Farmer John, a cover of the Don and Dewey R&B hit by The Premiers, a group of pochos from East Los suburb San Gabriel. [Editor’s note: If you cannot access the NPR audio, blame NPR which is still using an outmoded, incompatible Flash-based media player.]

NPR reports:

In the summer of 1964, Beatlemania was sweeping the United States, young men were burning their draft cards and race riots were raging in cities across the country — and wrapped up in all of it was the biggest hit of the summer in Los Angeles.

Mas…Musical pochos: The Premiers rock ‘Farmer John’ (audio,videos)

It’s a long, hard road from Central America to El Norte

borderflyersEscaping criminal gangs in Central America and crossing Mexico to enter the U.S. without papers is only the first step in a long journey, a journey with an ending that remains unknown.

The Intercept tells the story:

A few nights ago, Ana crossed illegally into the United States from Guatemala. Her husband paid a coyote $4,000 to smuggle Ana and their son through the lowland jungles of southern Mexico, up the San Pedro river to the Texas border.

“A gang was after us,” Ana says in a daze, digging her knuckles into her cheeks to stay awake. She and her child were just released from a 48-hour stay at a detention center where it was too cold to sleep.

Mas…It’s a long, hard road from Central America to El Norte

Massive ancient Mayan cities found deep in Mexican jungle

junglecityArcheologists have re-discovered two ancient Mayan cities deep in the Yucatan jungle — massive cities with plazas, buildings and pyramids, some over six stories high.

One spectacular find was a monster mouth portal carved with a stylized earth monster eye and fangs along the doorway jamb (photo.)

The cities, Lagunita and Tamchen, flourished in what is called the Late and Terminal Classic periods (600-1000 A.D.).

Discovery News has the story:

Mas…Massive ancient Mayan cities found deep in Mexican jungle

Kilometer-long earthquake fissure splits Sonora (drone video)


An earthquake last week opened up a giant fissure in the desert west of Hermosillo, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. The crack in the earth is 1 kilometer long and up to 25 feet deep in some stretches. This drone video shows Nature’s awesome power.

Maybe I grew up in a Latino and African-American neighborhood

navarrobannerMaybe I grew up in a mostly Latino and African American neighborhood because that was where my parents could pay rent.

Maybe they could only pay rent there because my parents immigrated into this country with only a bag of clothes. Maybe they worked 16 hrs a day 7 days a week in ranches cutting cabbage. Maybe they worked 2 or 3 jobs, and yet it was barely enough to get by.

Mas…Maybe I grew up in a Latino and African-American neighborhood

Russki electropunks Barto live at a Yucatan mezcaleria (video)


Barto, Барто in Russki, an electropunk combo from Saint Petersburg, rocks the Chalupa “Hostal & Mezcalería” in this new video. The “hostal” is in Tulum in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucutan Peninsula. Also, luchadores.

Schizflux reports:

Their arrival on the scene prompts the managers of wholesome pastime to just in case lock away the sound equipment. Informed by rational choice theories, my strategic tit-for-tat insistence to unlock it for a gig results in firing of the petitioner.

Mas…Russki electropunks Barto live at a Yucatan mezcaleria (video)

She’s a ‘young adult’ now! ‘Dora and Friends: Into the City’

doraandfriendsbannerNew Young Adult/YA Dora the Explorer on the Horizon: Dora and Friends: Into the City to Debut! What’s Next? Dora, the Sad College Years?

Never one to say no to a good thing, Nickelodeon has opted to cash-in on their Latina golden goose! The morning mail finds our old friend Dora the Explorer all grown up, ten years old, hangin’ with her posse in the City, and, get this, now she has eyebrows.

I am actually all for the saturation of the vidiot network with pint-sized facsimiles of smart, bilingual, Latina animated stars, so I will hold the snark and just point you to some coming attractions!

Mas…She’s a ‘young adult’ now! ‘Dora and Friends: Into the City’

Local Chicano decides to start calling himself ‘Hispanic’

hispanicguy(PNS reporting from IRVINE, CA) Roland Vega, 33, formerly known as “Rolando,” has come to an important moment in his life: He’s transitioned from a “Chicano” to a “Hispanic.”

The decision to change the way he self-identifies came as somewhat of a shock to his family and his homeboys, but not necessarily to Vega’s former Hispanic fraternity brothers.

He made the announcement on Facebook Sunday night.

“You know, Roli — er, I mean, Roland — was always the most radical Chicano in the fraternity, but c’mon man, he was studying accounting. I kinda always knew he was going to end up a Hispanic,” said Ed Taboada, Vega’s college roommate.

Mas…Local Chicano decides to start calling himself ‘Hispanic’

Been indicted and it feels so good: The Governor Rick Perry Story

rickperryhorseWhen news broke Friday that GOP presidential nominee wannabe Texas Governor Rick Perry (photo) was indicted on two counts of abuse of power, we were pissed off because we were in the middle of a conference call and didn’t that grand jury know our meeting schedule and publishing deadlines?

We realized later, however, that we had a treasure trove of Perry-ana that could be given fresh life on the Interwebs with a cool big-ass image of Perry, a clever headline and lots of SEO-friendly keywords.

POCHO proudly presents PREVIOUSLY ON INDICTED TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY THEATRE:

Mas…Been indicted and it feels so good: The Governor Rick Perry Story

Alaskans praise candidate who will save us from illegals with tats

joemillerracistmailer (PNS reporting from ANCHORAGE, AK) Some they call him Joe, some they call him Doh! but one group of Alaska voters is 100% behind Joe Miller, the Tea Party-affiliated candidate who is seeking a United States Senate nomination.

“His campaign mailer (click on photo to enlarge) convinced us that Miller will do a great job keeping the thriving Latino community of Alaska in check,” read a press release issued Thursday by Cecilia Jones, the president of National Organization for Minorities, Advertisements, Media Exposure and Symbolism. “And that especially goes for your drug-dealing border-crossing tat-wearing illegal alien Democrat voters!”

Mas…Alaskans praise candidate who will save us from illegals with tats

Rosa Diaz goes ‘method’ on Charles Bukowski project (audio, video)

rosadiazPhilly singer-songwriter Rosa Diaz started a Charles Bukowski-themed project, and to make it authentic, she became a Method Actor — actually living the writer’s hard-drinking life style until it almost killed her.

LatinoUSA’s Nadia Reiman reports:

In this recent a capella music video, Diaz sings about Pain:

Mas…Rosa Diaz goes ‘method’ on Charles Bukowski project (audio, video)

Robin Williams reads Pablo Neruda’s ‘Sonnet XVII’ (video)


In the film Patch Adams, Hunter “Patch” Adams — played by the late Robin Williams — “commits himself into a mental institution. Once there, he finds that using humor to help his fellow inmates gives him a purpose in life….”

Sonnet XVII
By Pablo Neruda

I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz,
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as one loves certain obscure things,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.

Mas…Robin Williams reads Pablo Neruda’s ‘Sonnet XVII’ (video)